The present invention relates to applicators designed for applying a substance onto keratinous fibers, and in particular, the eyelashes or the eyebrows. The invention relates more particularly to an applicator comprising a rod having an end extending along a longitudinal axis, and a brush fixed to the end of the rod, the brush comprising a core and bristles extending from a bristle-carrying portion of the core.
Numerous applicators for applying substances to eyelashes or eyebrows are known. In particular, French patent application FR 2 798 267 describes an applicator in which the brush makes an angle relative to the rod so as to enable its free end to take substance from the walls of the receptacle containing the substance that is to be applied. In such an applicator, the angle formed relative to the longitudinal axis of the rod by the bristle-carrying portion of the core when said core is rectilinear, or by the tangent to the core at its distal end when said core is curved, is quite large. Other applicators comprising brushes having non-rectilinear cores are known from French patent application FR 2 749 490, and from European patent applications EP 0 832 580, EP 1 236 419, EP 1 236 420, and EP 1 236 421.
In certain applicators, the rod end of the brush of the bristle-carrying portion of the core makes quite a large angle, e.g. greater than 30°, relative to the longitudinal axis of the rod. With such a large angle, the brush cannot be used by the user without having firstly to identify the orientation of the core, thereby complicating the movements required to apply makeup.